


구미호

by busylittlebee



Category: GOT7
Genre: 2Jae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fantasy, Fluff, Gumiho!Youngjae, Hitchhiking, Im Jaebum is Whipped, Korean Mythology, M/M, Mentions of Myth & Folklore, Mild Language, Mild Smut, Mythology - Freeform, One Shot, Road Trips, Romance, mentions of past violence, slightly graphic violence, tattoo artist!jaebum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 14:09:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12961023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/busylittlebee/pseuds/busylittlebee
Summary: On his drive from Busan to Seoul, Jaebum picks up Youngjae, a really cute hitchhiker. Sparks fly between them instantly, but as they eventually learn, things are not always what they seem.





	구미호

Jaebum kept his eyes fixed on the road, taking his right hand from the wheel to grab the water bottle and take a couple of swigs. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard, which read 5:39 PM. He had left Busan only an hour prior after spending a week there, visiting an old friend from high school who had just got engaged.

“You might be next, Jaebum!” Jackson had said the previous night, patting his back while they drank together. “All of us will want to settle down at some point.”

Jaebum snorted upon remembering his friend’s remark. Marriage was not meant for him. It was meant for Jackson, who was a very family kind of guy, and there was no doubt that he would be a great husband. Jaebum, on the other hand, preferred to think he was still young and unattached. The fact that his parents were always nagging him to find someone to settle down with did not help much, though.

He turned on the radio and sped up slightly, lips curving into a small smile as the music started to play. After a while, however, the petrol light on the dashboard lit up and Jaebum decided he would stop at the next station to fill up.

As if on cue, signposts indicating the proximity of a petrol station started appearing after a few miles. Jaebum changed lanes as soon as he could and drove the car into the petrol station, stopping right next to one of the pumps. An attendant, a cute little girl with a ponytail and an orange cap, came bouncing towards him almost immediately.

“Good evening, sir!” she greeted as Jaebum exited the car. “Need any help?”

Jaebum gave her one of his most perfect smiles.

“Could you fill it up, please?”

“Yes, of course,” she quickly replied, pulling her cap down a little to hide her blushing face.

Jaebum made his way into the shop to pay, rummaging in his pockets for his wallet. Now that he was there and still had a pretty long drive back to Seoul, he decided it would be a good idea to buy some more water and food. After grabbing a few snacks and two more bottles of water, he walked back to the counter, where he had to stand in line behind another customer. The boy, who looked about his age, sounded a bit flustered, and by what Jaebum could hear, things were getting a bit uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, I was sure I had it. Just wait a second, please,” the boy said in a soft voice as he searched his pockets.

He was carrying a big grey backpack, from which he produced a fluffy yellow purse and proceeded to empty it on the counter. The cashier started and clicked her tongue, annoyed.

“If you’re not going to be able to pay for that, sir, I must ask you to leave,” she said curtly. “Next, please?” she added, looking over at Jaebum.

“No, please, I was sure I had the money, I just don’t know where it went…” the boy insisted, his long black bangs covering his eyes. He glanced over at Jaebum and seemed to become even more flustered, his hands shaking as he tried to count what was left of his money.

Jaebum hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward and saw that what the other boy was trying to buy was just a strawberry-flavoured ice lolly.

“I’ll pay for that,” he said politely. The cashier raised an eyebrow and the boy, who was probably the prettiest thing Jaebum had seen in his life, blushed immediately.

“Oh, no, please, it’s not necessary,” he stammered, shaking his head. “I’ll just leave it here.”

“Please, tell me how much it is,” Jaebum asked the cashier, ignoring the other’s protests.

The cashier bagged all the items and Jaebum paid for the food and his petrol refill, eventually taking the ice lolly and offering it to the lovely boy.

“There you go,” he said as they exited the store.

The other took it with a shy smile.

“Thank you,” he said with a deep bow, head almost reaching his feet. “Thank you so much, really. I was having such a hard time in there.”

“It’s nothing. She was being mean to you, to be honest.” Jaebum smiled. “There’s just one thing I will ask of you in return, though.”

The other boy’s eyes were wide as he looked up at him expectantly.

“What is it?” he murmured, the ice lolly still in his hands.

“Your name,” Jaebum replied with a shrug. “I need to put a name to that beautiful face.”

A soft blush spread across the boy’s cheeks.

“It’s Youngjae,” he simply replied.

“What a cute name,” Jaebum observed, opening his car and leaving the bag of snacks on the back seat. “My name is Jaebum, by the way.”

Youngjae repeated his name as if trying to memorise it, and it was such an endearing sight. Was Jaebum already head over heels for that lovely round-faced boy he had just met at a petrol station? Well, maybe.

“So Youngjae-ssi, where are you headed?” he asked, trying his best not to sound creepy.

Youngjae hesitated for a moment before telling him.

“I actually need to get to Seoul. I’ve come all the way from Mokpo.”

“Really? Where’s your car?”

“I can’t drive.” Youngjae smiled sheepishly. “I hitchhiked all the way.”

Jaebum’s eyes widened and he leaned against his car, surprised.

“Well, that sounds pretty dangerous. How old are you, anyway?”

“I’m not that young, I’m twenty-one.” He absently opened the ice lolly. “How old are you?” he asked after a moment, bringing it to his mouth.

Jaebum could not look away.

“I, er, twenty-three. I’m twenty-three.” He did not mean it to sound as clumsy as it did, but Youngjae was sucking the ice lolly in such a way that sent his mind tumbling and it was distracting.

Youngjae gave him an innocent smile, pulling the ice lolly out of his mouth with a pop.

“And where are you going, Jaebum-ssi?”

Jaebum pushed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket to stop them from fidgeting. He needed to appear cool and collected. Youngjae was a flustered and blushing mess five minutes ago, where had that kid gone?

“I’m actually going to Seoul as well.” There was a brief pause, and Youngjae sucked the ice lolly again. “Would you like me to drive you?”

Youngjae blinked several times, seemingly surprised at Jaebum’s forwardness.

“I would hate to be a bother,” he eventually said, pouting slightly.

Alright, he definitely was the most adorable thing Jaebum had ever laid eyes on.

“Oh, please, it’s not a bother. But I understand we don’t know each other much yet, so if you don’t want to, I get it, really.”

“Are you sure you’re not a creepy evil man that will murder me and throw my body into a river?” Youngjae asked, sounding like he was half-serious and half-joking. “Or perhaps a _dokkaebi_ that’s going to steal what’s left of my money?”

Jaebum chuckled.

“God, no, none of that, I promise.” He shook his head. “A _dokkaebi_ , though? Those don’t exist.”

“Hm, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Youngjae sucked the ice lolly again, looking down at it with a shrug. “I’ve learned the world can always give you a surprise or two.”

“Really, now?” Jaebum raised an eyebrow, sceptical. “ _Dokkaebis_ are just tales they tell you when you’re a kid to scare you so you don’t misbehave.”

“I see that didn’t work with you.” Youngjae was smirking. “Do you still want to give me a lift?”

Jaebum blinked a couple of times, and when he looked again, that sly smirk on Youngjae’s face was gone and had been replaced by an innocent look. Had he imagined that?

“Yes, sure, if you want to,” he replied, opening the door to his car.

Youngjae put his backpack in the car’s boot and jumped onto the passenger seat, smiling brightly.

“Thank you for this, Jaebum-ssi,” he said as Jaebum sat on the driver’s seat and closed the door.

“You’re most welcome,” Jaebum replied, giving him a wink. “Shall we go, then?”

“Yes, let’s go.” Youngjae nodded firmly and Jaebum started the car.

They drove back into the motorway and Jaebum sped up a little, glancing over at Youngjae. He was leaning his head against the glass, still eating the remainder of his ice lolly. The sun was setting behind him, casting an orange glow over his dark eyes that was almost magical. With a cough, Jaebum quickly returned his gaze to the front.

“So,” he said after a minute, “why are you going to Seoul?”

“I want to become a professional singer,” Youngjae replied, “and working for my parents in their little noodle shop wasn’t going to help me much. I told them, and they said that if I really wanted to go, I could. So I did.”

Jaebum raised his eyebrows.

“Wow, that was brave.”

“I have family there, so I’ll be okay. It’s not like I’m going to be homeless or anything.” Youngjae nibbled on the wooden stick of the lolly, playing with it in his mouth. “And what do you do?”

“I’m a professional tattoo artist,” Jaebum replied. “I work in a friend’s shop.”

Youngjae looked down at Jaebum’s hands, face and neck, inspecting every inch of skin that was visible, but didn’t spot any tattoos.

“Are your tattoos all hidden?” he asked, curious.

Jaebum smirked.

“Yes, they are. I can let you know, though, that my favourite one is on my back.”

“Really? Is it one of those huge ones?”

“It’s pretty big, yeah.”

“And what is it?”

“Now, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?” Jaebum said with a chuckle, turning on the music.

A soft retro beat resonated through the car and he kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, even though he knew Youngjae was staring at him.

His hands were steady on the wheel, but inside he was screaming. Jaebum had always been good at flirting, but he had never encountered someone like Youngjae, who made him go weak in the knees with just a glance. It was as if a spontaneous connection had been made, pulling them together by an invisible string.

“I like this music,” Youngjae commented after a while, head moving in sync with the beat. “Such an eighties vibe. It suits you.”

“Does it?” Jaebum said, amused.

“Yeah. Your ear piercings, your bad boy leather jacket, the packet of cigarettes in your pocket. Speeding on the motorway as the sun is setting,” Youngjae said, chuckling. “Feels like being stuck in a film.”

“One with a happy ending, I hope.”

Youngjae only smiled in response and started humming along to the music. Jaebum focused on driving. There was not much traffic, fortunately, but it was getting quite dark already.  

None of them said a word for a while. The clock on the dashboard was past 7 o’clock PM when Youngjae shifted on his seat, letting out a small groan.

“Everything okay?” Jaebum asked, sensing the other’s discomfort.

“Yes, I’m just…” Youngjae let out a shy laugh, “I think I need to pee, is all.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll stop as soon as I can,” Jaebum replied, his stomach feeling fluttery at the sound of Youngjae’s laugh. “Don’t want you peeing all over my car.”

Youngjae swatted his arm playfully.

They had just passed Daegu a while ago, but Jaebum was thankful to see that they were approaching a small town. He decided they would stop there and maybe grab some dinner if Youngjae was okay with it; he was starting to get hungry.

“How about some food?” Jaebum offered as they drove into the town.

“That sounds good! I’ll search on google to see if there are any nice places around,” Youngjae said with a nod, then gasped and turned to Jaebum. “Oh, I’ll pay you back as soon as we get to Seoul, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jaebum replied with a soft smile.

Youngjae found a nice small restaurant not very far from there, and guided Jaebum using the gps on his phone. They parked the car nearby and walked back to the restaurant, enjoying the fresh air. Autumn was just starting but it was already chilly at night, something Jaebum was happy about. He was not what you would call a summer person.

“It’s freezing,” Youngjae commented, hiding his hands inside the long, thick sleeves of his hoodie. Jaebum grinned; another thing to add to the list of ‘cute things Youngjae does’.

“Come on, it’s not that cold.” Jaebum gently took Youngjae’s hands between his and rubbed them to get them warm. “You’ll warm up as soon as you eat something, you’ll see.”

Youngjae could only blush and nod in reply.

They walked into the restaurant, which was a bit crowded already. As Jaebum sat down at a table in a corner, Youngjae excused himself to go to the loo. Jaebum’s phone started vibrating right away, and after checking who it was, he picked it up with a smile.

“Jinyoung, what’s up?”

“Well, well, at last you decide to answer my calls,” Jinyoung said from the other side, sarcastic. “To what do I owe this honour, your majesty?”

“Are you just calling to diss me? I was driving and had the phone on silent, I had no idea you were calling.” Jaebum rolled his eyes.

“Oh, of course. Where are you?”

“In some town near Daegu, why?”

“No reason. I was just calling to check how the road trip was going.” Jinyoung sounded playful. “Are you rediscovering yourself?”

Jaebum snorted.

“Do shut up.” He avoided mentioning Youngjae, otherwise he would never hear the end of it. “I’ll probably be back tomorrow. How’s work at the shop going?”

Jinyoung made a nonchalant noise and started chewing something. He was probably having dinner as well.

“Nothing new, as usual. Today I did yet another tribal tattoo on a girl’s lower back, and Mark pierced the nipple of some guy who said he wanted to impress his girlfriend,” he said with a giggle. “I could hear his cries from my own booth.”

“You really do sound like a psychopath when you say those things.”

“Shut up. I’m just saying—don’t get a piercing or a tattoo if you’re not willing to endure the pain. All that ‘trying to impress my girlfriend’ thing was bullshit. I think he had lost a bet but was too embarrassed to tell us.”

Youngjae came back to the table, giving Jaebum a soft smile upon noticing he was speaking on the phone. Jaebum smiled back.

“Jinyoung, I’ve got to hang up now, I’m about to have dinner,” he said, trying not to sound hasty.

“Do you have company?”

“Of course not. See you tomorrow.”

Jinyoung laughed.

“Get condoms!” he managed to yell before Jaebum hung up on him.

When he looked up, Youngjae was covering his mouth with a hand and giggling softly.

“Sorry, that was, um, my friend,” Jaebum tried to explain.

“It’s fine,” Youngjae said, resting his chin on the palms of his hands. “I saw you were busy so I ordered some food already, hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, no, I don’t. Thank you, Youngjae-ssi.”

“Just Youngjae, please.”

“Alright, then call me just Jaebum, then.”

The waitress brought them the food—some rice and a variety of side dishes, nothing too complicated. It was delicious, but Jaebum found himself enjoying Youngjae’s company the most. They drank a bottle of beer each, and the more the night progressed, the more infatuated Jaebum felt.

“This beer tastes so good,” Youngjae observed after taking the last few sips. “I used to think beer was gross, but I like it.” He smiled. “Perhaps it’s the company.”

His eyes were half-lidded and his eyelashes looked extremely long, covering his eyes in an alluring manner. Jaebum watched him, his own face turning red as he put his beer down on the table.

“If you’re not used to drinking, it’s best if you stop now,” he said softly.

Youngjae leaned forward, his hand grabbing Jaebum’s knee under the table and squeezing hard.

“Don’t worry, I won’t get too drunk.” He grinned. “I want to remember what’s most likely going to happen tonight.” 

Jaebum nearly jumped off his chair.

“Look at your face,” Youngjae continued, giggling adorably. “You’re blushing like a virgin. You’re not a virgin, though, are you?”

“The alcohol loosened your tongue, huh?” Jaebum finally retorted, smirking as he felt Youngjae’s hand moving up his thigh. “Such a dirty mouth you have.”

Youngjae leaned in even closer until their faces were just mere inches apart.

“Let’s go to the nearest hotel and you’ll find out just how dirty it is,” he murmured, and Jaebum would have kissed him right there and then if Youngjae had not pulled back so quickly.

Jaebum regained some of his composure, at least enough to pay for the dinner and google for hotels nearby. Once they found the closest one, they exited the restaurant and stepped out into the deserted street.

Jaebum immediately went for Youngjae’s neck, nibbling on the tender flesh as he pressed the other against a damp wall. Youngjae let out a gasp and brought Jaebum even closer, one hand burying itself in Jaebum’s dark hair and pulling rather desperately.

Their crotches brushed against each other and both groaned, Youngjae pulling back with a sly smirk on his face.

“Come get me.”

He pushed Jaebum back and ran off down the street, chuckling. Jaebum blinked, completely caught off guard, but immediately set off after Youngjae. Two could definitely play that game.

The road was steep and slippery, since it had rained while they were in the restaurant. Youngjae was running a few metres ahead of Jaebum, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to see if the other was following. They tripped several times and laughed loudly, too focused on each other to care about being heard or not. After reaching the end of the street, Youngjae took a turn to the right and disappeared from view. Everything became silent all of a sudden, his laugh ending abruptly. Jaebum picked up the pace, and as soon as he turned the corner his heart jumped in his chest.

Youngjae was being cornered by a group of three shady-looking men.

“Hey, hey, where are you going?” one of them said, gently pushing Youngjae back as the other two walked around him. “Are you in a hurry, little boy?”

Youngjae looked so terrified he could not even utter a single word.

“Do you have money?” another one said, shamelessly tugging at the rim of Youngjae’s pockets.

“Forget the money, I like those sneakers,” the first one said, nudging Youngjae’s foot with his own.

“No, not the shoes,” Youngjae said, shaking his head. “I don’t have another pair, I…”

“Shut up and hand them over, you fucking bent,” the third man said, shoving Youngjae backwards.

That was the cherry on top for Jaebum. He was not sure if it was the mixture of alcohol and adrenaline in his veins, but for a moment, he lost his connection to reality. He went on a rampage.

Stepping between Youngjae and the guy who was grabbing him, he easily shoved the man to the ground and landed a kick on his face, feeling the nose bones breaking against his instep. A gut-wrenching cry of pain resonated through the street as Jaebum was grabbed by another guy from behind, but he quickly dug his elbow into the other’s groin. The man groaned and staggered backwards, which gave Jaebum time to turn around and punch him square in the jaw. Then, as the two men lay on the road, one nearly unconscious and the other bloody-faced, Jaebum turned to the one that looked like the leader and shot him a glare.

“Fuck. Off,” he growled, taking a step forward.

The man, who looked like he had just had the shit scared out of him, immediately held both hands up, backing off.

“Fine, fine, we’ll leave you alone!” he yelled. “Get the fuck out of here, kid.”

“No, _you_ get the fuck out,” Jaebum said, jaw tight. “If you ever touch him again, I swear to god—” he took another step towards the man, ready to kick his face in, but was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm.

“Jaebum, let’s go,” Youngjae said with a shaky voice, tugging at his jacket. “Come on.”

At the sound of Youngjae’s voice, Jaebum’s body released some of the tension it was holding in. He looked down at the two men lying on the pavement and turned to Youngjae, a slightly panicked expression on his face.

“Let’s go,” Youngjae insisted, and they both ran off.

They got to the hotel and it was Youngjae who booked the room. Jaebum kept his hands hidden in his pockets; he did not want anyone asking about his battered knuckles. After all the paperwork was done, they went up to their room. The hotel was old and a bit shabby-looking, but that was probably the last thing on their minds.

None of them said a word until the door was closed behind Jaebum’s back. Youngjae was on him in the blink of an eye, pulling him into a tight hug. Jaebum wrapped his arms around the other’s shivering form and buried his face in the crook of Youngjae’s neck, his muscles relaxing at the warmth.

They had not expected for their night to turn out like this. At all.

“Jaebum,” Youngjae said after a while, voice low and awed, “you’ve saved me.”

Jaebum pulled back just enough to look into Youngjae’s eyes.

“I wasn’t going to let them touch you, I…” he brought his hands up to cup Youngjae’s cheeks, the rage he felt earlier coming back momentarily. “Thank goodness you stopped me, I don’t know if I would have been able to.”

“Of course you would have stopped.”

“I’m not sure,” Jaebum said, taking a deep breath to calm down again. The fact that he had been about to beat three guys into a pulp for someone he had met only a few hours prior was hitting him so hard. “That… that scares me.”

Youngjae hugged him again, his arms cradling him soothingly.

“I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t intervened,” he murmured. “You saved me, Jaebum. You’re a good person. You’re not a violent man.”

“I nearly killed them, Youngjae, I was ready to—”

“You’re not a bad person,” Youngjae cut him off, gently sitting him down on the edge of the bed. “I’m alive and well because of you. Don’t forget that.”

Jaebum let out a long sigh, finally nodding his head. Youngjae seemed to have such a strong influence on him, on his whole being.

“I just want you to be okay,” Jaebum murmured, closing his eyes as Youngjae gently caressed his face. “I don’t know why, but I just want you to be safe.”

“I’m safe thanks to you.” A soft thumb swiped over Jaebum’s cheek. “ _Thank you_.”

Leaning forward, Jaebum pulled Youngjae closer and hugged his middle, burying his face in the other’s abdomen. The smell of his clothes and skin was comforting.

Youngjae leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead. Jaebum opened his eyes and they stared at each other for a long moment, silence falling between them.

“I was ready to kill you,” Youngjae murmured.

Jaebum’s body went stiff.

“What?”

“You said you didn’t believe in _dokkaebis_ and things like that, but they do exist. Jaebum, they do,” Youngjae said, his voice softening. “I’m not going to hurt you, though.”

There was a thick lump in Jaebum’s throat.

“You just said—Youngjae, tell me you’re joking. This is not the time to be fooling around.”

“Jaebum, I’m not who you think you are. I’m not from Mokpo, my parents don’t own a noodle shop and I’m not moving to Seoul to become a singer. This isn’t a joke.” Youngjae looked dead serious, and Jaebum could tell that it was not the alcohol talking. “I think you have the right to know, since you just saved me and I’m in debt to you.”

“Youngjae, you’re scaring me.”

“I am a _gumiho_ , Jaebum. Do you know what that is?”

Upon hearing that word, Jaebum immediately crawled back onto the bed. Of course he knew what a _gumiho_ was, he had been told countless stories and legends about them from an early age. _Gumihos_ were mythological creatures; nine-tailed foxes that would acquire an attractive human appearance to lure men who travelled alone and eat their hearts and livers. Youngjae held out a hand towards him but did not move closer, a sorrowful expression on his face.

“I know what they are,” Jaebum said. “But you… you can’t be one, you’re too…”

“Innocent? Fragile? That was all just part of my façade,” Youngjae explained, sounding regretful. He looked down at his feet, ashamed. “I was ready to lure you in and kill you when I first met you at the petrol station, and that was my plan all along, but…” he looked up at Jaebum with genuine vulnerability in his eyes, “I could tell your feelings towards me are pure. They’re true. And you just saved me, I can’t hurt you. I _won’t_.”

Jaebum watched him for a few seconds.

“Show me.”

Youngjae seemed taken aback by the request.

“I don’t want to scare you, Jaebum.”

Jaebum swallowed thickly, tentatively moving to his feet and approaching Youngjae again.

“Please,” he said, staring into Youngjae’s dark eyes, “if you’re not going to hurt me, show me.”

Youngjae seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slowly brought his palm up to press the heel against Jaebum’s forehead. Jaebum immediately felt a powerful surge of energy and closed his eyes, only to reopen them and find that there were nine tails of white fur on Youngjae’s lower back. His eyes were no longer dark—they were amber-coloured and sharp, like a fox’s.

“Do you see what I mean now?” Youngjae said, his voice trembling slightly. He withdrew his hand and instantly returned to his human appearance.

Jaebum was lost for words.

“But… _gumihos_ … aren’t they evil? Aren’t they supposed to be harmful and kill people to survive?”

“Do you think I haven’t done that before?” Youngjae said, turning to him. “I’ve killed countless people over the centuries. And I never felt pain or regret while doing it, I will admit that. You, though… you’ve saved me tonight, Jaebum. As I said, I’m indebted to you. If a human helps a _gumiho_ , the _gumiho_ won’t ever harm them in return.”

“Youngjae—”

“I understand that you’re confused and scared,” Youngjae continued, gently taking Jaebum’s hands and swiping his thumbs over the battered skin of the knuckles. It started to heal at an unbelievable speed, and soon it looked perfectly smooth again. “But please believe me, I _don’t_ want to hurt you.”

After another long moment, Jaebum brought his hands to cup Youngjae’s face again and pulled him into a soft kiss. Youngjae clung onto him right away, his hands squeezing the back of Jaebum’s leather jacket as he intently returned the kiss.

Clothes were slowly discarded and thrown about the room, bodies becoming exposed for just another pair of eyes to see. Youngjae’s skin was pale and tender and Jaebum soon felt himself growing addicted to it, his lips kissing it and his teeth nibbling at it whenever they could. Youngjae, on the other hand, was thrilled to discover all the tattoos that lined Jaebum’s body. He traced each and every one of them with his fingertips, from the words written in Latin below Jaebum’s collarbones to the intricate flower designs on his lower abdomen and groin. They fell onto the mattress in a tangled mess of limbs, eager to discover and devour each other in the best way possible.

So what if Youngjae was a _gumiho_ , Jaebum thought to himself. He knew he could trust his word. There was a certainty deep inside him, a strong connection between them that made him feel safe.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Youngjae asked at one point, sounding breathless above him. Jaebum nodded and brought him closer for another deep kiss, pressing their naked bodies together.

“I’m not scared,” he assured in a low voice. “I promise.”

They sat up a little on the bed, Youngjae getting comfortable on his lap and causing them both to moan at the contact. They kissed once more, Youngjae’s lips gently forcing Jaebum’s to open. Jaebum complied, allowing Youngjae’s tongue access, and soon felt something round and heavy, like a small pearl, on his own tongue. Youngjae pulled back.

“Swallow it,” he murmured. Jaebum obeyed.

“What was that?”

“That was my gift to you. It’s called _guseul_ , and it will give you knowledge,” Youngjae explained, his voice soft as he stroked his fingers through Jaebum’s dark locks. “Each of us has just one, and we’re not supposed to give it away unless it’s to someone we truly love.”

Jaebum blinked, his hands gently stroking Youngjae’s sides.

“Do you love me?” he murmured, his throat tightening with emotion.

Their eyes met and Youngjae nodded.

“I love you.”

“Will you stay with me?”

“If you let me.”

Jaebum chuckled, nodding his head.

“Of course I’ll let you.”

Jaebum kissed Youngjae again, never getting enough of the sweet taste. Youngjae started moving on his lap, holding onto his shoulders for support. They moved slowly at first, but soon their movements picked up the pace, their breaths becoming more and more uneven. Jaebum’s head felt light and his chest tight; an overwhelming feeling of love and affection flooding him as Youngjae sank down on him for the last time, climax hitting them both at the same time.

He held Youngjae as tightly as his arms allowed him, wrapping them around the other’s waist and stroking his back. Youngjae panted heavily against his neck, their sweaty bodies sticking to each other. He looked down at Jaebum’s back, a wide grin spreading across his pink, swollen lips.

“I love this one,” he said, reaching down to trace the figure of Jaebum’s favourite design—a beautiful nine-tailed fox tattooed along his spine.

**Author's Note:**

> I really don't know where this came from, but I was listening to 'Gloria' by The Midnight and reading about nine-tailed foxes and Korean mythology and this just sort of _happened_ (•ิ_•ิ)


End file.
